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# Jesus, The Syrophoenician Woman, and Racism - Mere Orthodoxy | Christianity, Politics, and Culture
- URL: https://mereorthodoxy.com/jesus-syrophoenician-woman-racism/
- Published: 2020-08-11T05:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-18T15:45:29.000Z
- Description: Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the passage in the gospels that depict Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. At first, and perhaps even at a second, glance, this complicated passage appears to incriminate Jesus of some sort of racial prejudice. […]
- Author: Mere Orthodoxy
- Tags: Caleb Wait

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the passage in the gospels that depict Jesus’s encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. At first, and perhaps even at a second, glance, this complicated passage appears to incriminate Jesus of some sort of racial prejudice. But is this the right reading of the text?

**Timestamps:**

Introduction and reading of the passage \[0:00 – 3:50\]

The problem of the passage; does this passage prove that Jesus had racial prejudices? \[3:50 – 7:35\]

The context and situation of the passage \[7:35 – 12:48\]

Problems with the “Jesus had racial prejudices” arguments \[12:48 – 15:15\]

The exclusivity of Israel \[15:15 – 22:25\]

Alastair’s take on Jesus’s use of “dog” in reference to the Syrophoenician woman \[22:25 – 25:50\]

The test and veneer that leads to blessing \[25:50 – 27:15\]

The holes in the reading that says “Jesus wasn’t sinful, but he was racially prejudiced” \[27:15 – 30:00\]

The obstacles that our faith can overcome \[34:00 – 38:30\]

**Resources mentioned:**

*Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation*, by Miroslav Volf

If you’re interested in supporting the show financially, you can check out our Patreon [here](https://www.patreon.com/merefidelity?ty=h&ref=mereorthodoxy.com).

Finally, as always, follow [Derek](https://twitter.com/dzrishmawy?ref=mereorthodoxy.com), [Andrew](https://twitter.com/ajwtheology?ref=mereorthodoxy.com), and [Alastair](https://twitter.com/zugzwanged?ref=mereorthodoxy.com) for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to [Timothy Motte](https://twitter.com/biotrom?ref=mereorthodoxy.com) for his sound editing work. [And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.](http://www.noisetrade.com/thejoyeternal/a-sweet-and-bitter-providence-single?ref=mereorthodoxy.com)